** I chose not to room with anyone, could have cut hotel expenses in half. I also enjoyed 4-5 nights of steak and scotch. Could have ate half as much.

"Getting to the Start and Home Expenses"

Shipping Scooter from Philly to SFO: $850 (shipping + straps, gas to philly/tolls)
Airfare, $285 original fair, $250 upgrade to 1st Class (gift from family members!)
4 Days, 3 Nights SFO (Hyatt Fishermans Wharf), $745 (I made a mini, vacation out of it - never been to SFO before)
I live 4 hours from the finish, so I only had a morning ride home, no additional cost, just gas

Total "Getting to the Start and Home Expenses" = $2130

** Family gave me a 1st class upgrade. Could have stayed at cheaper hotel but I was on vacation.

Pre Cannonball:

My GTS only had 1,100 miles, aside from a brand new rear tire + oil change, I had no other service done too it. I was 100% stock.

thanks feb31st that is some good base line info. I started a speadsheet and race expenses I had just under $2k as an estimate.
the to and from is all subject to now I ship/drive share a ride ect. That is why I asked how's everyone getting to the start in the other thread. more on that over there.

danham wrote:Not to mention feeding the Ryder gas hog during the peak gas price spike. Required two credit cards at each stop due to purchase limits.

-dan

I would think you'd rent a van not a moving truck, that way normal fuel mileage would be alot better. You coould put 3 scoots easily in the back and have plenty of room for gear and spares for the trip out at least.

We did a lot of research on this and decided (perhaps unwisely) to take the hit on gas in exchange for other benefits, such as lowest one-way rental cost. The scoots went west via Forward Air and I drove the truck from SF to Ocean City, then to Brooklyn, where it died (!).

What I really wanted was a small Diesel, but not one rental company allows them to be used for anything but round-trip or local hauls. Everything else we looked at was too big or too small or not available for a long one-way trip.

Three scoots in a van? Not easily, even considering one of them was compressed for us, trash-compactor style [g].

danham wrote:We did a lot of research on this and decided (perhaps unwisely) to take the hit on gas in exchange for other benefits, such as lowest one-way rental cost. The scoots went west via Forward Air and I drove the truck from SF to Ocean City, then to Brooklyn, where it died (!).

What I really wanted was a small Diesel, but not one rental company allows them to be used for anything but round-trip or local hauls. Everything else we looked at was too big or too small or not available for a long one-way trip.

Three scoots in a van? Not easily, even considering one of them was compressed for us, trash-compactor style [g].

-dan

when I was racing dirt bike we use to get 3 of them in a van tight but doable.

bigevilgrape wrote:Are there any people who did this on the cheap who care to share what their budget was? Did anyone camp to save on lodging?

No one camped in 2008. You could probably find someone to split 3ish ways for floor space in a hotel room. Rocket (not calling him cheap), but resourceful (I learned you can 'press' a pair of jeans on the back of a refrigerator from him by leaving the frig door cracked) and he is on a vintage with no luxury comforts, the man makes deli sandwiches while riding, could probably give you an idea on a thin but realistic budget.

Anyone who wants to camp is welcome to, but keep in mind that we're going to be fairly far north in mid-September and it won't be exactly warm at night in a lot of the places where we'll be. My plan is to find hotels in each town, that will let us to rent a block of rooms at a discount rate. I'd encourage everyone who wants to go in on a hotel to pick a roommate, or roommates. For example, if you're going in on a support vehicle with others, it would probably be helpful to room together with them. Or room with friends of yours who are going on the Cannonball with you. So start thinking about things now and talk to people about making arrangements. There are now 6 months left until the rubber hits the road, and time is ticking!

I camp in New Hampshire though late October, early November. I have a zero degree bag and no how to stay warm I mostly want to know what my options are as I try and figure out a budget and weather or not this is even possible for me.

Sure, if you're used to camping in the cold, you're more than welcome to camp out along the way across. I'd recommend trying to find campgrounds that are reasonably close to the hotel where we're staying, since that will usually be the starting point the next morning. Also, expect to be absolutely exhausted at the end of the day, and you'll want to try and get as much sleep as you can each night. I imagine that 10 days straight of riding and camping could really wear somebody out and tax the immune system. I'll trust your awareness of your own capabilities to make the right decision for you. And if you do go for it, more power to you, that's pretty hard core... but at the same time I can imagine there might be some great camping along the way too!

What are you planning to ride? Preferably something fast and fuel injected, so that you can have plenty of time at the end of the day and altitudes won't be a problem. Some carbureted bikes can be difficult or impossible to adjust for the thin air, where they'll run rich and sluggish. Fuel injected bikes, on the other hand, automatically compensate for the altitude and run just fine. Give it some thought, and see if you have the budget for the bike, support, gear, spares and supplies. Definitely talk to Rocket for pointers on keeping it cheap, and you could probably do it too. Good luck!